A milder-than-usual winter helped propel Maine’s economy in the first three months of the year, pushing the state into the nation’s top 10 in economic performance for the quarter.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday that construction; health care and social assistance; durable goods manufacturing; and retail trade all expanded briskly in Maine during the quarter, contributing to the 9th-fastest growing economy in the country. The state’s economy produced $58.1 billion in goods and services in the quarter, up 2.3 percent from $57.6 billion in the final three months of 2015 and $55 billion during the first quarter of last year.

The results were a sharp reversal of the state’s economic performance of a year ago, when the tail end of a brutal winter resulted in the state’s economy contracting 11.3 percent, worst in the country.

Amanda Rector, the state economist, said the milder winter helped the economy in two ways: by allowing construction work to continue during a time of year when it is often shut down and low oil prices, which helped residents save money on heating costs and boosted disposable income.

“It really did help with both construction growth and sales growth,” Rector said.

Rector said the signs are good for the first quarter growth to continue, with construction still strong and continued low oil prices carrying into the summer.

That could lead homeowners to use some of the savings from lower heating costs to undertake renovations, she said, and business owners to invest.

The mild winter allowed many construction companies to start projects earlier than is typical, said Matt Marks, chief executive officer of Associated General Contractors of Maine, a construction trade association.

Marks said construction employment jumped early in the year, but he’s worried that the early start might have a downside: many contractors in the state said their backlog of work is starting to shrink. It used to be about a year, he said, but contractors said it is now down to a few months. The worry is that the backlog could be erased this fall, meaning lean times for contractors this coming winter.

“We’re just starting to hear people say that,” he said.

That’s reflected in employment figures, said Ken Simonson, the chief economist for Associated General Contractors of America.

He said 27,800 people in Maine were working for contractors in January, the highest number in years, but by June, that number had declined to 24,600. Those numbers are adjusted for seasonal variations in hiring, he said.

TOUGH TO FIND HIRES

“I’m worried that the growth in Maine (in construction during the first quarter) may not have staying power,” Simonson said.

He also said Maine contractors have reported difficulty in hiring skilled construction workers, a problem probably exacerbated by the state’s slow population growth and very low unemployment rates. That means contractors may not be able to bid on some construction projects, losing out to out-of-state companies, or they may complete the projects late, Simonson said, hurting profits. Many construction contracts have financial penalties if the work isn’t done on time.

Marks said construction in southern Maine has been humming along, but less so elsewhere. Contractors in rural and northern areas are worried, he said. Simonson said employment figures for contractors support that concern – job growth has been stronger in urban areas of Maine than in rural locations.

Nationally, the BEA said Arkansas posted the biggest percentage increase in economic performance during the quarter, with its economy expanding by 3.9 percent, largely because of a strong rise in agricultural output. The sharpest contraction occurred in North Dakota, where falling oil prices and a decline in transportation and warehousing led to economic output dropping 11.4 percent.

The BEA said construction grew sharply during the first quarter nationally, rising 9.0 percent. In Maine, it contributed 0.53 percentage points, or roughly 23 percent, of the overall growth.

The worst-performing sector nationally was transportation and warehousing, which declined 8.8 percent in the quarter and detracted from overall economic growth in every state, including Maine.

Maine’s results largely mirrored the national economy; construction; health care and social assistance; and retail trade led the way to a 1.2 percent increase in economic growth in the U.S. as a whole.

Regionally, New England posted an increase of 1.5 percent in economic growth, behind the Far West and tied with the Southeast. New Hampshire’s economic growth of 2.9 percent was best in the region and fifth-best nationally. Connecticut posted the slowest growth rate in the region, with its economy expanding just 0.9 percent, a performance that was 28th among the states.

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maineman11111

economy UP
unemployment DOWN

when in the last 100 years has maine experienced that excellent news?

THANK YOU MAINE GOVERNOR PAUL LEPAGE

xcalibur1066

Man.. are you asking for it or what? Brace yourself for the h8!!!

notspot

Why? Governor LePage is wholly responsible for everything that is Maine…;)

xcalibur1066

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly..

notspot

Sounds like a summer relative gathering to me…

xcalibur1066

Especially if clothing is optional.

notspot

Hah! Gee, that suit is wrinkled…what, it’s not a suit. No lunch for me.

xcalibur1066

Visual weight loss system..

KraziJoe

Good job LePage for Maine and Obama for the country…

Mark Gravel

Thank you Obama for the racial division.
Thank you Obama for the increase in loan wolf terrorist.
Thank you Obama for the drop in average income.
Thank you Obama for corruption in the IRS and other government agencies.
Thank you Obama for my increased healthcare costs.
Thank you Obama for the increase in food stamp recipients.
Thank you Obama for all of Michelle’s vacations on the taxpayer dime.
Thank you Obama for Benghazi.
Thank you Obama for the increase in violent crime in America – what did you think would happen releasing felons?
Thank you Obama for killing the West with open boarders.

But most of all Obama, thank you for creating rejection of establishment politics and the creation of Donald Trump.

Thank you Obama for Donald Trump!

blue__sun

its easy to be up 2% when you were down 11%

xcalibur1066

Same goes for Obama at the federal level? Oh wait…. What is the 8 year look back at GDP? How often where the published numbers downgraded? How many times where the published numbers upgraded. Do the research. It ain’t pretty.

Also, up to .75 of all the GDP growth Obama claimed after the recession came from the evil fossil fuel industry. They didn’t do well because of Obama, they did well despite Obama.

Jes999

Can you read? This economic upturn was a result of a mild winter and low oil prices. So now LePage is a witch controlling the weather?

ScitteryGussett

I blame Lepage. Also Obama.

Jes999

I thought it was Skitterygusset with a “k”.

Mark Gravel

LePage is doing a great job on the economy.

notspot

Agreed! If it wasn’t for Northern Massachusetts, can you believe how much stronger those numbers would have been? stu pid Liberal Northern Massachusetts Counties!

Jes999

How exactly is this economic upturn LePage’s baby?

Mark Gravel

The same justification why the US economic upturn is Obama’s baby. What is good for one is good for the other.
See how simple that was!

Jes999

Did you read the article? The upturn was the result of a mild winter and low oil prices all across the nation. What — did LePage do a rain dance to soften up the weather?

Mark Gravel

LePage supports carbon based energy.

Carbon based energy causes global warming (i.e. mild winters).

LePage caused global warming and mild winters.

Simple! Yes, LePage is a success.

Go LePage!!!!!!

Jes999

By your logic LePage is as much responsible for Maine’s economic good news as the other 100 million idiots supporting carbon-based energy.

Mark Gravel

Are you one of those people who don’t realize their life would be completely different if it were not for carbon fuels? The wealth and technological advances we leverage every day are all based on carbon.

Jes999

Our wealth and technological advances don’t have to be based on planet-destroying carbon fuels.

The Europeans just flew a plane around the world with zero carbon fuels. They used the sun’s energy.

Europe’s going to surge ahead with all the new inventions while the Koch Brothers step on any American who tries to say “boo” to their carbon-based billion-dollar incomes.

Mark Gravel

Unlikely that you’ll fly a passenger airliner on solar. You need to think practicality, not novelty. Have you ever considered how much carbon fuel was used to manufacture that novelty?

Just look at the science. Fossil fuel is second to nuclear power when it comes to joules per volume, which is essential for participial and wide spread use.

By the way, the Sun’s energy is hydrogen, the plan use photons, a by product of the sun’s energy source. Photons as an energy source don’t work at night or in cloudy overcast sky.

Jes999

“Unlikely that you’ll fly a passenger airliner on solar.”

You kinda sound like my great grandfather, who used to say, “We’ll never fly to the moon.”

Mark Gravel

Your grand dad was correct. We never flew to the moon, we rocketed to the moon.

The math is simple:

1. Figure out the amount of joules of energy that it takes to move a plane that size from LAX to Tokyo.

2. Calculate the number of joules of energy in photons per square foot of surface area assuming that you can extract 100% of the energy that impacts the surface at a perfect perpendicular angle.

3. Divide 1. by 2. That is the number of square feet of ideal collection surface area needed to produce the equivalent amount of joules to move the plane.

The result will show you it is prohibitive to use photons to power commercial flight. It is that simple.

Jes999

See “Sun-Powered Airplane Makes Historic First Trip Around the World” in today’s RealClearLife dot com

Mark Gravel

Can you power a 787 with 300+ passengers and cargo?

Can you fly it an night?

Can you fly it in cloud cover?

Is that practical?

Jes999

Does all progress come to a halt on July 28, 2016?

Mark Gravel

You are changing the topic. Stay focused on your original assertion.

Jes999

No, I think most people can see that I’m shattering your argument.

Mark Gravel

We are not talking about progress in general, we were talking about powering commercial flights using photons.

You have shown nothing of the sort that shatters my argument.

Physics says it is not feasible. Do the math!

The math is simple:

1. Figure out the amount of joules of energy that it takes to move a plane that size from LAX to Tokyo.

2. Calculate the number of joules of energy in photons per square foot of surface area assuming that you can extract 100% of the energy that impacts the surface at a perfect perpendicular angle.

3. Divide 1. by 2. That is the number of square feet of ideal collection surface area needed to produce the equivalent amount of joules to move the plane.

The result will show you it is prohibitive to use photons to power commercial flight. It is that simple.

Mark Gravel

Listen readers.

A Boeing 747 jet has an average power consumption of 140 megawatts/hour

Energy at the Earth’s surface when the Sun is at the zenith is about 1050 W/m2

Do the math. Make sure to watch your units… You’ll need gobs of surface area, which is not feasible.